Sunset Sessions

What Sunset Sessions does

Sunset Sessions is a privately held music industry event and networking company founded in 1998 by independent radio promotion executive Michele Clark. The company produces a portfolio of live events — headlined by two annual conventions in Southern California, an annual SXSW showcase in Austin, a national tour series, international songwriter retreats, festivals, showcases, and parties — that convene radio programmers, music supervisors (film/TV/games/sports), record labels, publishers, managers, booking agents, and press with emerging and established artists. Its stated purpose is to provide an intimate, curated setting in which artists can be discovered and championed by influential tastemakers; the company's published alumni roster includes Carlos Santana, Jack Johnson, Sia, The Black Keys, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, and Zac Brown Band, among others.

Operationally, Sunset Sessions is a founder-led lifestyle events business with a headcount of eight employees headquartered in Calabasas, California. There is no proprietary technology stack; the product is the event itself, the curated attendee list, and the relationships that compound across years. Revenue is event-based (sponsorships, registration, and related programming) with no public pricing or unit economics disclosed, and the company carries no external funding. Strategic affiliations with The Recording Academy, Entertainment Tonight, RAMP, MX2, and NBC Soundiego provide institutional credibility and media reach, while charitable alliances with MusiCares, OneVoice, and the Wounded Warrior Project extend brand goodwill within the artist community.

The business model is fundamentally a high-touch, relationship-mediated B2B platform for the music industry, monetized through curated live experiences rather than software, data, or media rights — though a TV show tied to its Songwriter Retreats is reportedly in pre-production, representing a potential future media/IP revenue line. Geographic footprint spans Southern California, Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and Mexico (Tulum, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta).

Name

Sunset Sessions

Legal name

Sunset Sessions

Website

https://sunsetsessions.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunset Sessions is a privately held music industry event company founded in 1998 that produces biannual Southern California conventions, SXSW showcases, and international songwriter retreats connecting artists with radio stations, music supervisors, record labels, publishers, and booking agents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Industry Live Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Music industry events
• Artist showcases
• Songwriter retreats
• Music networking conventions
• Live entertainment events

Headquarters

HQ city

Calabasas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Event-based revenue: Revenue is generated through music industry events including conventions, showcases, songwriter retreats, tours, and parties. The events create networking opportunities between artists, radio stations, music supervisors, record labels, and other industry professionals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunset Sessions produces and hosts invitation-based live music industry events that connect artists with influential industry professionals such as radio stations, music supervisors, record labels, managers, publishers, press, and booking agents. The portfolio includes bi-annual Southern California conventions, international songwriter retreats, national tours, festivals, showcases, SXSW events, and parties, designed to deliver intimate settings for music discovery and industry networking.

Product overview

Sunset Sessions is a music industry event company that operates a portfolio of live entertainment products. The core offerings include bi-annual conventions held in Southern California, international songwriter retreats (with a TV show in pre-production), national tours, festivals, showcases, and parties. These events serve the music industry by connecting artists with radio stations, music supervisors, record labels, managers, publishers, press, networks, and booking agents in intimate settings. The company began in 1998 and has been instrumental in launching artists such as Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, The Black Keys, and Colbie Caillat.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunset Sessions Conventions Bi-annual invitation-based music industry conventions held primarily in Southern California that bring together radio stations, music supervisors, record labels, managers, publishers, press, and booking agents with artists for networking, music discovery, and artist exposure.
• Songwriter Retreats

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, media partner and charitable.

• The Recording AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficially supported by The Recording Academy, providing industry credibility and access to Grammy-associated professionals and resources.
• Entertainment TonightmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership providing television coverage of Sunset Sessions events. Entertainment Tonight aired coverage of February 2014 event featuring Ziggy Marley, Augustana, Kodaline, and The Hold Steady.
• RAMPmedia partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio and music industry media partner supporting Sunset Sessions events.
• MX2media partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for Sunset Sessions events.
• NBC Soundiegomedia partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerNBC affiliated media partner for Sunset Sessions.
• MusiCarescharitableOthersSunset Sessions works closely with MusiCares, a nonprofit organization that provides health and human services to the music community.
• OneVoicecharitableOthersSunset Sessions supports OneVoice nonprofit organization.
• Wounded Warrior ProjectcharitableOthersSunset Sessions supports Wounded Warrior Project charity.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Canadian Music Week: Annual music industry conference and festival in Toronto combining panels, networking, and artist showcases. Directly comparable as a B2B music industry convention with live performance programming.
• Reeperbahn Festival: Hamburg-based music industry conference and showcase festival that connects emerging artists with European industry decision-makers. Closely aligned with Sunset Sessions' discovery-and-tastemaker format.
• Eurosonic Noorderslag: European music conference and showcase festival focused on European emerging talent and industry exchange. Highly comparable as a curated, conference-plus-showcase event for the recorded-music industry.
• The Great Escape: UK-based new-music festival and conference focused on artist discovery and industry networking. Comparable as an intimate, curated showcase event connecting emerging artists with music-industry professionals.
• Mondo NYC: New York music business conference and festival featuring panels, networking, and artist showcases. Directly comparable as an indie-friendly, intimate music-industry event format.
• SXSW (South by Southwest): Annual Austin-based music, film, and technology conference featuring artist showcases and industry networking. Directly comparable as a multi-track industry event where Sunset Sessions activates its SXSW showcase.

Broad incumbents

• NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants): Large, established music-products trade organization hosting the annual NAMM Show. Comparable as a broader music-industry convention but focused on instruments/manufacturers rather than artist discovery.
• Billboard Live / Billboard Music Summit: Music-industry summits and awards operated by Billboard's parent Penske Media. Comparable as a high-profile industry event organizer serving record labels, artists, and music supervisors, though at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• MUSEXPO: Global music industry conference connecting artist managers, labels, and music supervisors. Comparable as a high-level industry networking event targeted at music decision-makers.
• A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) Indie Week: Annual independent-music industry conference organized by the trade association A2IM. Comparable as a curated industry gathering focused on independent labels, artists, and service providers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SunsetSessions
• Facebookfacebook.com/mcsunsetsessions
• Instagraminstagram.com/sunsetsessions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunset-sessions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunset Sessions